Fidál, 15 Jamál (Beauty), 183 B.E.
Quotes for Reflection
Among other principles of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings was the harmony of science and religion. Religion must stand the analysis of reason. It must agree with scientific fact and proof so that science will sanction religion and religion fortify science. Both are indissolubly welded and joined in reality. If statements and teachings of religion are found to be unreasonable and contrary to science, they are outcomes of superstition and imagination. Innumerable doctrines and beliefs of this character have arisen in the past ages. Consider the superstitions and mythology of the Romans, Greeks and Egyptians; all were contrary to religion and science. It is now evident that the beliefs of these nations were superstitions, but in those times they held to them most tenaciously. For example, one of the many Egyptian idols was to those people an authenticated miracle, whereas in reality it was a piece of stone. As science could not sanction the miraculous origin and nature of a piece of rock, the belief in it must have been superstition. It is now evident that it was superstition. Therefore, we must cast aside such beliefs and investigate reality. That which is found to be real and conformable to reason must be accepted, and whatever science and reason cannot support must be rejected as imitation and not reality. Then differences of belief will disappear. All will become as one family, one people, and the same susceptibility to the divine bounty and education will be witnessed among mankind. — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá [1]
Question for Consideration
What is the role of science in these dependencies? [2]
Gemini/NotebookLM Response
In the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, science plays a pivotal role as one of the two “directing principles” (the other being worship) that regulate the life of the Bahá’í community. Within the surrounding dependencies, science is not merely a secular pursuit but a spiritualized tool for social and material transformation.
The following points detail the specific roles of science within these auxiliary institutions:
1. The Institutional Expression of Scientific Knowledge
The dependencies are explicitly designed to include institutions dedicated to higher scientific education and advanced studies. These centers are intended to:
- Generate Knowledge: They serve as hubs for research and intellectual investigation, which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá describes as “an eternal gift” and the “supreme gift of God to man”.
- Empower Populations: By providing access to scientific education, these dependencies help eliminate ignorance, which the Universal House of Justice characterizes as a “most grievous form of oppression”.
- Foster Professional Excellence: They train individuals in “useful” sciences—such as medicine, agriculture, and engineering—that directly redound to the “progress and advancement of the people”.
2. Practical Application: Health and Healing
The role of science is perhaps most visible in the hospitals and drug dispensaries that comprise the primary dependencies.
- Medical Science: These institutions utilize modern medical science and new inventions to contribute to the health and well-being of the citizenry.
- Integrated Healing: The Bahá’í approach advocates for a synthesis where science and religion work in harmony. While spiritual means (prayer and joy) are vital, physical ailments are addressed through “competent physicians” and “material means,” which God has “confirmed through this Pen”.
3. Demonstrating the Harmony of Science and Religion
A central purpose of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár and its dependencies is to offer a practical demonstration that science and religion are “two inseparable, reciprocal systems of knowledge”.
- Balancing Perspectives: These centers embody the ideal that “science without religion becomes the tool of crude materialism,” while “religion without science soon degenerates into superstition”.
- Spiritual Guidance for Science: The insights generated by scientific advance within these dependencies are guided by the “spiritual and moral commitment” fostered in the House of Worship, ensuring that technology and knowledge serve the “common good” rather than destructive ends.
4. Transfusing Worship into Disinterested Service
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár model is built on the principle that worship in the central edifice must be “translated and transfused” into service within the dependencies.
- Directing Energies: The spiritual forces generated through prayer are channeled into “scientific pursuits” to provide the “necessary agency capable of removing the ills that have so long and so grievously afflicted humanity”.
- Spiritualized Labor: Scientific and technical work performed in these dependencies, when done in a spirit of service, is elevated to the station of worship.
In summary, science within these dependencies provides the “material wing” of human civilization, enabling the community to provide medicine to the ailing, food to the hungry, and knowledge to the ignorant, all while remaining anchored in the spiritual values of the “divine wing”.
Footnotes
[1] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. THE PROMULGATION OF UNIVERSAL PEACE. Bahá’í Reference Library. https://www.bahai.org/r/980687897
[2] Gemini/NotebookLM. “Science and the Spiritual Mission of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.” Edited by Steve Bosserman. May 11, 2026. https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/65808e18-87f2-4896-92b9-16a7aff29d15
Be the Voice of…
Therefore, all souls should consider it incumbent upon them to investigate reality. Reality is one; and when found, it will unify all mankind. Reality is the love of God. Reality is the knowledge of God. Reality is justice. Reality is the oneness or solidarity of mankind. Reality is international peace. Reality is the knowledge of verities. Reality unifies humanity. — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá The Promulgation of Universal Peace | Bahá’í Reference Library.
Frameworks for Understanding the World 